As a byproduct of the combustion of rice husk to generate energy, rice husk ash (RHA) is formed by silica and carbon, apart from small amounts of other constituents. Several treatments can be used to increase the purity of the silica obtained, or even produce pure silica. The present study tested the efficiency of different techniques to obtain silica, characterizing and comparing the silicas obtained from RHA. A literature review was conducted, and then selected techniques were used to produce silica, which was characterized by XRF, XRD, particle sizing, specific weight, specific surface area, total carbon, and SEM. The literature review showed that most techniques include a pretreatment like acid or alkaline leaching followed by thermal treatment to increase the amount of silica produced by reduction of carbonaceous materials. The results showed that it is possible to produce silica from RHA using simple methods, and that these produced silica with purity above 98%. The treatments that afforded the best results were acid leaching followed by thermal treatment at 800ºC, and alkaline extraction at low temperature, with silica purity of 99.3% and 99.6%, respectively.

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This study aimed to evaluate the effect of needle-like zinc oxide nanostructures (ZnO-NN) on the physical, chemical, and antibacterial properties of experimental methacrylate-based dental sealers. ZnO-NN was synthesized and characterized. ZnO-NN was added to a co-monomer blend at 20, 30, and 40 wt.%. One group without ZnO-NN was used as a control. The dental resin sealers were evaluated for their flow, film thickness, water sorption, solubility, radiopacity, degree of conversion (DC), dental-sealer interface characterization via micro-Raman, and antibacterial activity. ZnO-NN presented a mean needle diameter of 40 nm and 16 m2/g of surface area. There was no difference among groups containing ZnO-NN regarding their flow. The ZnO-NN addition significantly increased the film thickness. Water sorption and solubility tests showed no difference among groups. The radiopacity increased, and DC decreased with higher concentrations of ZnO-NN. Micro-Raman suggested that ZnO-NN was in close contact with root canal dentin. Overall, the incorporation of ZnO-NN provided an antibacterial effect against Enterococcus faecalis without a significant detrimental impact on the physical and chemical functionality of the material. The use of ZnO-NN as an inorganic filler is a potential application within dental materials intended for root canal treatment.

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ResumoO uso de revestimentos compósitos de matriz polimérica e reforço cerâmico capazes de manter a flexibilidade e a elasticidade das fibras poliméricas, agregando propriedades típicas dos materiais cerâmicos (como ação bactericida ou fotocatalítica, resistência à chama, ao desgaste e à abrasão), tem atraído interesse da indústria têxtil. Baseado na técnica dip coating e usando fibras sintéticas de poliamida como substrato, foram produzidas suspensões de poliéster-uretana com partículas de alumina (tamanho médio de partícula 2,2 µm) para obtenção de revestimentos uniformes e espessos sobre o material base, poliamida 6. A viscosidade das suspensões foi controlada pela adição de carboximetilcelulose e avaliada por reometria rotacional. A distribuição granulométrica das suspensões também foi determinada. Os parâmetros operacionais do dip coating, i.e., velocidade de bobinamento e temperatura dos fornos, foram mantidos constantes em todas as amostras. O processo mostrou viabilidade para deposição uniforme do recobrimento avaliado, com espessura adequada, indicando ser promissor para revestir fibras, agregando propriedades de interesse tecnológico. Palavras-chave: revestimentos compósitos, barbotinas, dip coating, alumina, fibras sintéticas. AbstractCeramic reinforced polymer composite coatings that can retain the flexibility and elasticity of the polymeric fibers, being also able to incorporate the functionality of ceramic materials (e.g. fire, wear, or abrasion resistance, antibacterial performance, photocatalytic effect) are interesting to the processing of textile materials. In this work, polyester-urethane slurries with alumina particles (mean particle size: 2.2 µm) were developed based on the dip coating technique and using polyamide-6 synthetic fibers as the substrate, seeking to obtain an uniform and thick coating. The viscosity of the slurries was varied using carboxymethylcellulose as a rheological agent and evaluated by rotational rheometry. Particle size distribution of the slurries was also analyzed. The developed process successfully deposited a thick and homogeneous composite coating on the fibers, which has the potential of enhancing the original fiber properties and the technological interest towards this material.